Public relations usually costs a lot of money. PR firms like to be on retainer and they like to say things like “you can’t measure PR” or “we’re in this for the long run.” So you have to figure out how to measure PR yourself.
One of the easiest ways to get measurable ROI from public relations is to focus on recruiting. This is because you have a large data set of benchmarks from the last year of previous hires, and you can measure that cost directly against hiring costs after your PR efforts.
Recruiting is largely based on your reputation. This is because job descriptions are not binding contracts—the employer can say the job is anything and then switch it with impunity. And job descriptions are not apples to apples. That is, one person could say a job has lots of overtime and another person, who is a workaholic, will think the same job is relatively cushy and will not mention overtime at all. Or, another example is title: An assistant job at Apple could have similar responsibilities to a director’s job at a startup.
So, since candidates can’t rely on a job description to judge a job opening, they rely on the reputation of the company. If a company has a great reputation for innovation, fun products and transparent management, hiring managers will have a much easier time attracting candidates, no matter what the job is.
Another reason recruiting is a great use for PR is that you should be able to do a lot of public relations for recruiting that doesn’t cost you much money, so it’s easier to get that investment back with a few, smaller wins.
Here’s are some ideas.
1. Get a book deal to get speaking gigs
For most people, a book deal is a completely ridiculous, waste-of-time idea. But not for a CEO of a small business.
It’s nearly impossible to get a keynote without having a book published by a mainstream publisher. And this is important, because speaking gigs are the easiest way for a company to establish itself as a leader in their given field.
So here’s what you do: Get a book deal for a topic in your company’s sweet spot. Use the advance to hire a ghostwriter and a booking agent. While the writer is still plugging away at the book, your agent can be lining up speech, because conference organizers don’t need to see the book itself, just the promise of the book.
The reason this plan works so well is that it pays for itself in a clear and measurable way. And it enables you to establish your company early-on as a market leader which surely makes selling product easier, but also, this tactic makes hiring candidates much easier, especially for smaller companies who don’t have a trusted brand as a recruiting tool.
2. Use Reddit
Reddit is full of 25-year-old guys—not publicists. So this is the first tip-off that it’s going to be a good place for public relations. Reddit is your (nearly) free and direct route to influencers.
Most people on Reddit are more influential online than most people who, for example, read The New York Times. Reddit is a news voting system, and if your story is good, it goes to the top of the list. And stories at the top of the list will go viral within minutes. So think of a good pitch and then don’t waste it on media—go straight to Reddit.
Here’s an example of an ex FBI-agent doing a great job selling his book on Reddit, so it’s clear that people use Reddit for PR. Getting your company’s name in front of this crowd regularly guarantees good buzz when you having job openings to fill.
3. Write your own blog
Joel on Software is one of the oldest blogs around, and it’s operated by Joel Spolksy ofFog Creek. He has said numerous times that the blog takes an enormous amount of his energy, but it pays off in spades when it comes to recruiting because Fog Creek gets a top crop of interns every year due to the fact that the blog, Joel on Software, is so popular among their target hiring group.
A blog gives you other PR benefits as well. For example, if you have a well-loved blog, then your blog can be your own sales and marketing machine for products and services. And, if there is a problem at your company, you can control the message via your blog rather than waiting til other bloggers spread the news. But most CEOs will tell you that the real ROI for an in-house blog is recruiting.
4. Hire a blogger
If you don’t have the personal stamina drive to author a blog yourself, consider hiring a blogger to get your messaging out.
Consider this list of things a top blogger knows way better than a publicist:
- Use backlinks to write guest posts that generate high conversion rates.
- Use customized lists to pitch guest posts that publishers will actually use.
- Write titles rather than articles to land on the home pages of mainstream media.
So instead of paying a publicist to pitch a blogger, why not just hire the blogger—who is undoubtedly cheaper than the publicist anyway. The blogger can write under his or her own name at the outlets most important to your corporate image.
If you’re wondering what this plan looks like, take a look at this blog post that PayScale hired me to write. PayScale’s goal was to make people understand why their salary data is game-changing. The message was picked up by ABC, FOX, and 20/20.